Anise swallowtail
Its caterpillars can feed on garden fennel, wild carrot-family herbs and even citrus leaves, an unusually broad menu for a swallowtail.
| Where | Gardens, hillsides and open fields |
|---|---|
| Size | 52 to 80 mm wingspan |
| When | March to October |
The Anise swallowtail has black wings crossed by a broad yellow band, a row of blue spots along the hindwing's outer edge and a single orange eyespot with a black centre near the tail. Its wingspan runs from about 52 to 80 mm, smaller than the tiger swallowtails it flies alongside.
Caterpillars feed on plants in the carrot family, including wild and garden fennel, as well as citrus leaves in some areas, and pass the winter as a chrysalis. Adults fly from lowland gardens and hillsides to alpine slopes across western North America, from spring into mid autumn depending on elevation.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
Black, Yellow, Blue
Active
Day
To people
Visits garden flowers; harmless to people.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Very similar and overlapping in range across Alaska and Yukon, but the black pupil of its hindwing eyespot is pushed against the wing margin, while the Anise swallowtail's eyespot pupil sits centred.
Questions
Is the Anise swallowtail dangerous to people?
Visits garden flowers; harmless to people.
When can you see the Anise swallowtail?
The Anise swallowtail can be seen from March to October, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Karen Offereins, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Swallowtails›Papilio
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.